This invention relates to buoyancy compensators, and, more particularly, to a buoyancy compensator which includes interchangeable backpacks and cummerbunds.
Buoyancy compensators are commonly provided in a form similar to a life vest and include a bladder or air cell inside the vest. Buoyancy compensators are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,134, 4,752,263, 4,694,772, 4,561,853, 4,523,914, and 4,137,585, and co-owned and co-pending U.S. patent applications entitled "Buoyancy Compensator with Expandable Cummerbund and Auxiliary Harness" and "Buoyancy Compensator with Interchangeable Accessories", Ser. Nos. 369,760 and 370,271, filed Jun. 22, 1989.
A buoyancy compensator is used by a scuba diver to adjust his buoyancy during a dive. The bladder can be inflated with air to increase the diver's buoyancy and deflated when the diver wants to descend to a lower level.
Previous buoyancy compensators are limited to a static functional configuration, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,134 and 4,752,263. However, diving is a recreational sport and is therefore subject to the individual's interpretations as to its ultimate and most comfortable form. Diving encourages an individualistic approach governed by the diver's personality and the buoyancy compensator's adaptability.